


I've Got Tomorrow On My Side

by misanthropiclycanthrope



Series: Free As A Bird [2]
Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, OT3, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misanthropiclycanthrope/pseuds/misanthropiclycanthrope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The briefest moments and smallest gestures can mean so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've Got Tomorrow On My Side

Dusk slowly draped her cloak across the land and the world hushed in deference to her august presence, only the odd whisper of a breeze through the tree branches or the snicker of a horse disturbing the still silence.

The sun stole the vivid hues from the landscape and painted them across the sky, a flamboyant farewell as it sank beneath the horizon. Shoulder to shoulder, the three men watched the colours pale and fade until the world was illuminated solely by the soft silver glow of the moon.

The warmth of the day lingered barely longer than its light, and the air soon grew cool with the night’s chill breath.

“We should get moving again soon.”

It was a sensible recommendation but there was a hesitance in Aramis’s voice, a reluctance to follow his own advice. Athos knew Aramis was thinking of him rather than the need to resume their journey back to Paris, for there was still plenty of time to cover the remaining miles before they were expected in the morning.

There was no hurry, only the steadily dropping temperature to consider; while Aramis and Porthos still wore their shirts, Athos was bare-chested, his wings free of their bindings and outstretched in the late summer air.

“Not yet.”

Athos cared little about the chill in the draught that played over his skin for it also caught at his wings, ruffling the feathers so often kept tightly bound. Suffering the mildly bitter wind was bearable when it meant a freedom he rarely permitted himself.

The heat from the men sat either side of him was enough to stave off the worst of the cold, but Porthos made certain by sliding an arm around Athos’s waist and pulling him close. Aramis found his hand and clasped it tightly. The warmth that bloomed in Athos’s chest wasn’t only generated from shared body heat and was intense enough to negate the night’s best efforts to rouse them and drive them on.

“Thank you.” His voice sounded hoarse as it worked its way past the constriction in his throat, and that simple phrase sounded dreadfully inadequate, didn’t express just how grateful Athos was to the two of them for convincing him to stop in this secluded, private spot while the sun set on France.

In place of searching for more suitable words, he curled his wings forward, wrapping them close around the men beside him, enfolding all three in an embrace and warding off the encroaching chill for just a little longer.

Porthos gave a soft huff of pleasure and his arm squeezed tighter.

“Your smile is all the thanks we require,” Aramis stated, and he sounded sincere rather than sentimental. Athos raised their interlaced fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss to Aramis’s knuckles then turned his head, found Porthos’s lips, and caught them in a tender kiss.

Athos would gladly remain trapped in this moment forever, where nothing mattered but the three of them, and if the world should end he would face eternity a happy man, surrounded by such unconditional affection as left him speechless.

The sorrow of the past had faded with the dying day; the night’s renewing breeze smoothing over the soft feathers of his wings and the loyal presence of the men beside him promised a future of liberation from self-imposed constraints, one he was now free to share with those whom he held most dear.

**Author's Note:**

> Title once again taken from Supertramp's 'Free As A Bird'.


End file.
